7/19/11

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." -JRR Tolkien The Hobbit

Okay, this is something I've been working with on and off for a bit. It started out as something else, but turned out to be too small for a regular 15mm figure. :)

Widest point (fireplace to door): 55mm Dome Width: 45mm Height: 25mm

Comparison with a Splintered Light Irish spearman and a

GW LoTR Bilbo Baggins.

There's some problems the photos are showing me that I want to fix, and the bottom edge of it is going to be squared off. I was also thinking about putting a ring of stone or brick around the bottom of the dome. There are probably going to be some variants, accessories, and such to go with it and a 28mm version down the road.

There's definitely no chance to have an interior space with this model, so what do you guys think of a seperate piece to stand in for the interior space with low walls and some furniture? Like a hobbity Space Hulk or something?

Let me know what you think. Especially about future additions to a fantasy scenery line.

7/5/11

Thanks for the support guys. We're hoping sales of the skiff are good as I'd like to produce alot more flyers and figures in this vein.

For a question on TMP I just checked it with several sized slotta bases and none of them can fit side by side. You need a base size about 15mm or 5/8s of an inch to do that.

For 25mm and 30mm bases you can fit three figures in the passenger compartment with one standing on the lockers in back. With 20mm bases you can fit four guys with the last one's base right at the edge.

From our preview blogpost: "Body dimensions are 185mm spar to end of railings and 50mm wide. Passenger compartment is 80mm by 35mm."

7/3/11

I was going to put up a store update today, but late last night we found we had a couple of packages still sitting on the front porch. One of which was the 28mm version of the skiff! This post includes the build of the display model, some comparisons, and a word on cast quality.

Here are the components; each kit includes two railings, a

control stick, chair, body, and engine cowling.

Body dimensions are 185mm spar to end of railings and 50mm wide.

Passenger compartment is 80mm by 35mm.

I'll come back to this again, but you'll notice some filled in areas. My

policy is to take the worst cast items to fix up and paint for display.

Casts we send to customers will be of better quality.

On to the assembly. Glue the joystick to the cowling console,

and then glue the cowling to the body. Easy enough.

The fiddliest bit is glueing the railings on. The holes on either

side of the console were where you plugged the old resin

railings into the cowling so just ignore them.

Also make sure the railings are straight before you glue them on.

They are robust enough once glued in, but being thin can be bent

easily unsupported.

You can glue the chair in at this point. However, I'd suggest leaving

it off for painting if you want to use it. (It's intended primarily as a

rest for standing pilots.)

Here is a comparison shot with some popular Martian lines.

From left to right: Parroom Station, Bronze Age, and RAFM Space 1889.

The skiff is designed to reasonably carry light cargo or up to six passengers.

It will only hold two or three figures on 25-30mm bases however.

Finally a note about casting quality. The picture below represents

the worst quality we'll be sending out.

Imperfections in this batch of castings are minor and almost

entirely on the underside of the body. Most will be easily taken

care of with a drop of glue or a good coat of paint. We just

wanted to be upfront with this as I know it will be an issue for

some people.

Thanks for looking. The skiff will be available this Tuesday for a price of $20 USD. We will also be offering and assembled and primed versions for $25 USD in either black or white.

7/1/11

Today's installment starts with another painting commission: The first batch of an order for 105 Phillippines Insurgents for the Spanish American Wars. When I get some more of these guys done I'll add pics of all three packs to the webstore.

Next is a display piece I did up to promote Ramshackle's

Nuclear Renaissance, the Brass Coffin.

We've only got a couple left though, and we're selling through the rest of our stock.